Defense Minister resigns – bought unusable ammunition

 

TT

 

Published 10.24Updated 10.51

  

Hanno Pevkur, Estonian Defense Minister since 2022. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

Estonia paid around 780 million kronor for ammunition to Ukraine – which turned out to be unusable. Now Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur is resigning.

The Defense Minister announced his resignation on Wednesday, despite the fact that he himself said he was unaware of the deal.

“A leader must have the strength and courage to take responsibility, even if the minister does not count socks and cartridges and does not negotiate contracts, the National Audit Office’s comments raise the question of political responsibility,” he wrote on social media, according to Kyiv Independent.

It was after the National Audit Office’s report on the country’s defense spending that the deal from 2024 was revealed. The ammunition was ordered from an Italian-registered company owned by India’s Neco Defense Munitions, which had never manufactured ammunition before. The deal came at a time when Ukrainian forces were suffering from an acute shortage of artillery shells.

The Estonian Defense Investment Center paid millions in advance, but delivery was delayed. When the ammunition was finally delivered in 2025, it was faulty and “useless.”